Rodney King , whose beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 was caught on camera and sparked riots after the acquittal of the four officers involved , was found dead in his swimming pool Sunday , authorities and his fiancee said . He was 47 .

Police in Rialto , California , received a 911 call from King 's fiancee , Cynthia Kelly , about 5:25 a.m. , said Capt. Randy De Anda . Responding officers found King at the bottom of the pool , removed him and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived . He was pronounced dead at a local hospital , police said .

There were no preliminary signs of foul play , De Anda said , and no obvious injuries on King 's body . Police are conducting a drowning investigation , he said , and King 's body would be autopsied .

Rodney King : What happened in 1991

Kelly -- who was a juror in King 's lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles in 1994 -- told police King was an `` avid swimmer , '' but that she was not , De Anda said . She reported the two had just had a conversation and she went inside , but came back out after hearing a splash and saw him at the bottom of the pool .

De Anda said he did not see any drug paraphernalia `` or anything that would indicate that Mr. King was intoxicated '' at the scene , but a toxicology screen would be performed .

King 's beating after a high-speed car chase and its aftermath forever changed Los Angeles , its police department and the dialogue on race in America .

`` I am saddened by the death of Rodney King , '' said Bernard Parks , a Los Angeles city councilman who served as LAPD chief from 1997 to 2002 . `` Although his beating will forever be thought of as one of the ugliest moments in the history of the city of Los Angeles and its police department , the victimization of Mr. King and the circumstances that followed created an atmosphere that allowed LAPD and the city to make historic disciplinary and community-based reforms that have made for a better police department and a better city as a whole . ''

`` Rodney King was a symbol of civil rights and he represented the anti-police brutality and anti-racial profiling movement of our time , '' the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement . `` It was his beating that made America focus on the presence of profiling and police misconduct . ''

King was 25 and on parole after a robbery conviction in March 1991 . In an interview in 2011 , he recalled he had been drinking and was headed home from a friend 's house when he saw a police car following him and panicked , thinking he would be sent back to prison . So he attempted to flee .

`` I had a job to go to that Monday , and I knew I was on parole , and I knew I was n't supposed to be drinking , and I 'm like ` Oh , my God , ' '' he told CNN .

Related : Rodney King looks back without anger

He realized he could n't outrun the police , but looked for a public place to stop . `` I saw all those apartments over there , so I said , ` I 'm gon na stop right there , ' '' he said . '' ` If it goes down , somebody will see it . ' ''

An amateur cameraman caught the scene as four white police officers struck King more than 50 times with their wooden batons and used a stun gun on him .

King said as the officers beat him , they yelled , `` We are going to kill you , n *** er , '' although the officers denied using racial slurs .

The video shows King cowering on the ground and attempting to crawl away as he is surrounded by a crowd of police officers . Four of them used their nightsticks to strike him .

King was beaten nearly to death . Three surgeons operated on him for five hours .

The video of the beating appeared on national television two days later , focusing attention on the issue of racially-motivated police brutality .

`` We finally caught the Loch Ness Monster with a camcorder , '' King attorney Milton Grimes said .

Four LAPD officers -- Theodore Briseno , Laurence Powell , Timothy Wind and Sgt. Stacey Koon -- were indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police officer .

But following a three-month trial in the predominantly white Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley , three of the officers were acquitted of all charges . The jury , which had no black members , deadlocked on one charge of excessive force against Powell , and a mistrial was declared on that charge .

Powell 's attorney , Michael Stone , said last year the unedited video worked against King and helped prove the officers ' case .

`` Most of the nation only saw a few snippets where it 's the most violent , '' Stone said . `` They did n't see -LRB- King -RRB- get up and run at Powell . ''

But African-Americans in Los Angeles exploded in outrage . Rioters ran through the streets -- looting businesses , torching buildings and attacking those who were in the wrong place at the wrong time . The violence was responsible for more than 50 deaths and $ 1 billion in property damage .

On the third day of rioting , King emerged from seclusion to make a plea : `` People , I just want to say , can we all get along ? Can we get along ? ''

The violence ceased , but the debate did not .

Nearly a year later , the four officers stood trial in federal court on civil rights charges . Two African-Americans were picked for the jury , and King testified . He hedged , however , on whether police used racial slurs during the beating . He told CNN in 2011 that slurs were used , but said he vacillated on the stand because his mother had told him to avoid talking about race .

Koon and Powell were found guilty and sentenced to 30 months in prison . Briseno and Wind were acquitted .

`` It was like ... I just hope we just get one , '' King said . `` I hope we just get one on that . If we get one , we 're good . So to get the two , I was really happy . ''

King also sued the city of Los Angeles .

`` Half of them had no sympathy whatsoever , '' Kelly , his fiancee , told CNN in 2011 about her fellow jurors . '' ... They just did n't care . Like , ` He broke the law . He deserved what he got . ' I told them they were crazy . It was about justice for what happened to him . No one deserves to get beat like that . ''

The other jurors came around , and King was awarded $ 3.8 million in damages .

In later years , King had several more run-ins with the law , including a 90-day jail stint in 1996 for a hit-and-run involving his wife at the time . On the 20th anniversary of the beating in 2011 , he was pulled over and ticketed for a minor traffic violation .

`` The trouble that -LRB- people -RRB- see me in is a part of my life that I 'm working on , '' he said in 2011 . `` I 'll always have an issue when it comes to alcohol . My dad was an alcoholic . The addiction part is in my blood . What I 've learned to do is arrest my addiction -- arrest it myself , so I do n't get arrested . ''

In 2008 , King appeared on the VH1 reality show `` Celebrity Rehab . '' He also released a memoir , `` The Riot Within , '' in which he describes his difficult upbringing and his reflections on the beating and its aftermath .

`` He was a wonderful , sweet man , '' said Bob Forrest , a Los Angeles-based musician and drug counselor who worked with King on `` Celebrity Rehab . ''

He said King struggled with his sobriety . `` He and I would talk off and on . Sometimes he was doing great , sometimes not . He was always gracious , an honest and gentle soul . ''

`` He was a wonderful , kind and gentle man , '' said Dr. Drew Pinsky of `` Celebrity Rehab , '' who also appears on CNN sister network HLN . `` He was at the center of a maelstrom and was able to maintain dignity and really keep his head high in a way that was an example for all of us . ''

The ranks of Los Angeles police are much more diverse than they were at the time of King 's beating . Changes have also been made -- some compelled by the courts -- in the way certain neighborhoods are patrolled and how complaints are handled .

Sharpton said in his statement Sunday that he had recently spent time with King discussing the release of his book .

`` Through all that he had gone through with his beating and personal demons , he was never one to not call for reconciliation and for his people to overcome and forgive , '' Sharpton said .

King said last year on the 20th anniversary of his beating that he has forgiven the officers who beat him .

`` Yes , I 've forgiven them , because I 've been forgiven many times , '' he said . `` My country 's been good to me ... This country is my house , it 's the only home I know , so I have to be able to forgive -- for the future , for the younger generation coming behind me , so ... they can understand it and if a situation like that happened again , they could deal with it a lot easier . ''

Overheard on CNN.com : Rodney King ` had demons . But called them his own '

A timeline of events in Rodney King 's life

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Rodney King is found dead in his swimming pool

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Riots broke out in 1992 after the officers were acquitted in his beating

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King had said he had forgiven the officers who beat him nearly to death